Sunday. The one day a week Calliope had that was completely her own. The shop wasn't open. There were no orders to be made. With Peeta gone and Calliope under strict instructions from the President to stay away, she found herself with no one to confide in. She couldn't tell Wren what was going on for fear of putting her in danger too.
Her mother didn't want to hear anything about it as she hated anything that had to do with the Capital and the people who took away her son. Calliope's grandfather still wasn't in the best mental state and didn't even remember the conversation with the Commander. That left her with only herself to think this out with.
Calliope and Gale barely even knew each other. Sure they had a mutual understanding and found themselves calling the other a friend but that's all they were. That's all Calliope could ever see them being, but if it was going to save her family and herself, she would do almost anything. With her mind made up, Calliope made her way to the one place she knew she could find Gale on a Sunday afternoon.
In the solitude of the woods, Calliope looked for Gale Hawthorne- or rather, waiting for him to find her. The woods were the one place the two could talk without fear of anyone else being able to hear them and Calliope needed to talk to Gale if this was going to work.
The December air was cold, nipping at her cheeks and nose. The coat she wore was barely warm enough to keep her from shivering but she had refused to allow Peeta to buy her a new one despite his pleas before he left.
"What are you doing following me, Cal?" Gale's voice rang out through the trees before Calliope saw him.
"I need to talk to you," she called out, looking around for any sign of him.
"About what?" He appeared from behind a large oak, scaring Calliope slightly and making himself laugh. Like ripping off a band-aid, Calliope explained the idea to him, of them fake dating, all while Gale looked at the girl like she was insane. "Hell no." He instantly shook his head. "Not happening. I'm not going to pretend to date you."
"Alright, I'm going to act as though your fast reaction didn't just hurt my feelings." Calliope crossed her arms over her chest. "We're already friends, right? What's the harm in pretending to be a little more?"
"The harm is I don't feel that way about you and you don't feel that way about me."
"So?" She shrugged.
With a scoff, Gale shook his head and tried to walk away, but Calliope stood in front of him, angering Gale. He hated when she did that when she blocked his path because he couldn't move her. He would never put his hands on her. "Calliope, move," he practically growled, staring down at her.
"Just think about it. If we acted like we were together, no one would question our friendship. We could talk to Katniss and Peeta all we want. No one would think twice about it if we were madly in love like they are, the Capital would think we bounded over our best friends falling in love. The story would be easy to sell. Me, you, Peeta, and Katniss could go on like double dates, we could all hang out at one of the houses, things like that."
"You sound insane. Double dates? This isn't the Capital."
"Insane or brilliant?" Calliope smiled, trying to break the tension.
"No...no you sound insane."
Her smile dropped and she rolled her eyes. "Okay fine. A Peacekeeper Commander visited me the other night. He told me that President Snow suggests we become...closer. He said we would both benefit from it."
Gale's eyes darken. "You're joking?"
Calliope shook her head. "I wish I was."
"I am not going to act like I am in love with you for the sake of President Snow and the Capital." He was disgusted at the idea.
YOU ARE READING
Losing Game {Peeta Mellark}
Fanfiction"I've spent all of the love I gave, we were always a losing game," Calliope Whittmore never knew the feeling of true heartbreak until she was wrapped in the arms of her childhood best friend as they said their final goodbyes. It was a long and quiet...
